Latest Blog Entries

With the recent Northwest Nazarene University announcements from the Board of Trustees and the report from the team assigned to review recent layoffs, I thought it would be wise to make a statement in response. I made a video response. Click the black rectangle “Statement from Thomas Jay Oord” to access it. The text in […]

In his new book, Saving the Original Sinner, Karl Giberson looks at how Christians have understood the Bible’s first humans. The range of understandings may surprise many readers. What the range means for Christians today might be even more surprising. Many Evangelical and Fundamentalist Christians worry that without a historical Adam and Eve, the Christian […]

Christians have many ways to think about how God acts in creation (providence). Each way has implications for making sense of life in light of God’s love, power, and other attributes. But some ways are better than others. In my forthcoming book, The Uncontrolling Love of God, I identify seven models of providence. Among them […]

A few weeks ago, I was asked to give a public lecture on a complex set of subjects: evolution, evil, and Christian theology. As I prepared for my address, I thought about the importance of seeking plausible answers to life’s biggest questions. And I pondered the risks involved. Northwest Nazarene University’s science and religion club […]

In previous blogs, I’ve mentioned nine dominant themes present in the new book of essays, Renovating Holiness. The final dominant theme in the book is the most frequently mentioned in the essays, so I list it as the most dominant theme overall. The Renovating Holiness book brought together 100+ Millennial and Xer leaders in the […]

I’m excited to announce that my nature photography book, Through Both Creations Shine, is now available! This is a project many have pushed me to pursue, and it’s gratifying to see it come to fruition. I’m really happy with the result. The title of my book, Through Both Creations Shine, will puzzle most who encounter […]

One of the more interesting proposals for understanding God’s relation to evil in the natural world is the “free process defense.” Not many realize, however, this proposal comes in two forms. I affirm one not the other.

The new Renovating Holiness book is selling very well! My co-editor, Josh Broward, and I are excited to see the myriad of ways the book is sparking new conversations about what holiness might mean today. Renovating Holiness brings together 100+ Millennial and Xer leaders in the Church of the Nazarene to explore holiness afresh. The […]

I’m happy to announce that a new book I have co-edited with Josh Broward is now available. Renovating Holiness brings together 120+ Millennial and Xer leaders in the Church of the Nazarene to explore holiness afresh. The book that results is nearly 500 pages long! We wanted to include as many voices as possible. And […]

I’ve been thinking about the various paths Christians take to embracing open and relational theology. John Polkinghorne is among those for whom science led to open and relational themes. For Polkinghorne and many other science and religion scholars, it makes sense to say an open and relational God creates an open and relational universe. My […]